I had surgery earlier today, and my doctor wrote me a prescription for hydrocodone and told me to take it if I needed it (I think it's 15mg hydrocodone, 700mg acetiminophen every six hours).
How addictive is this stuff? Is it "take it for a couple days while recovering and you'll be fine", or is this "scarily addictive and only take it if you absolutely have to"?
I've never been given prescription painkillers before, so I have no idea how leery I should be. At least I was able to convince them to skip the valium pre-surgery.
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[–] RoryIan ago
The acetaminophen is more dangerous than the codeine , so says a lot of current research. As for addiction , some people are made that way , they develop a desire for something and cannot stop. Others never do. I am like that , fortunately , not addicted to anything. There is , among some behavioral researchers , a thought that 'addiction,' is nothing more than an excuse . The people who become addicted are those who have little self control. Then physiology takes over and the substance itself changes the user in subtle ways which display as 'addiction.' Thus a physiological change displays itself as ' addictive ' behavior.
Most people do not need to worry . Take the pain med , be glad if it works, enjoy the recovery and then get on with life.